ISSN 0915-3160

通巻百三十八号No.

2Vol. 35 April 2023
SpringS pec i a l Feat u reAt the Frontline of Digital Transformation
Initiatives to Expand Business Through DX

SMKL (Smart Manufacturing Kaizen Level) for Smart Manufacturing
Transformation

Addressing Community Infrastructure Issues with International Standards
Establishing New Workstyles Through DX — NEC Digital Workplace —New Breeze Vol. 35 No.2 Spring

New Breeze

April 2023

C O N T E N T S

ISSN 0915-3160

Quarterly of The ITU Association of JapanBN Gyoen Bldg., 1-17-11 Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku,
Tokyo 160-0022 Japan
Fax: +81-3-3356-8170

https://www.ituaj.jp/?page_id=310
Editorial Committee

		 Special Feature — At the Frontline of Digital Transformation
1

Initiatives to Expand Business Through DX

9Addressing Community Infrastructure Issues with International
Standards

513

Chairman: Wataru Kameyama
Members: Ministry of Internal Affairs andCommunications, Association of Radio Industries
and Businesses, Communication Line Products
Association of Japan, Fujitsu Limited, Hitachi, Ltd.,
Japan Broadcasting Corporation,
KDDI CORPORATION, National Institute ofInformation and Communications Technology,
NEC Corporation, NIPPON TELEGRAPH AND
TELEPHONE CORPORATION, Oki ElectricIndustry Co., Ltd., Softbank Corp.,
Sony Group Corporation,
The Japan Commercial Broadcasters Association, and
The Telecommunication Technology Committee

SMKL (Smart Manufacturing Kaizen Level) for Smart
Manufacturing Transformation

Establishing New Workstyles Through DX— NEC Digital Workplace —		Column
16= A Serial Introduction Part 3 =Winners of ITU-AJ Encouragement Awards 2022

Publisher: Tetsuo Yamakawa
Editors:

Junichi Kishimoto
Naoko Ishida
Hayami Hirayama

Letters to New Breeze

New Breeze welcomes readers’ opinions. Please sendcomments with your name, address, and nationalityby e-mail, fax, or post to the editor.

e-mail address:
Subscription forms are available on the
ITU-AJ website:
http://www.ituaj.jp/english/subscription_form.pdf
Subscription Fee (including tax):
Single issue:¥1,650

Annual subscription (4 issues):¥6,600

About ITU-AJ
Disclaimer: Opinions expressed in thispublication are those of the authors and do notnecessarily represent those of The ITU
Association of Japan.
Copyright © The ITU Association of Japan. All rights
reserved No reproduction or republication without written
permission.

The ITU Association of Japan (ITU-AJ) was founded on September 1, 1971, tocoordinate Japanese activities in the telecommunication and broadcasting sectors
with international activities. Today, the principle activities of the ITU-AJ are tocooperate in various activities of international organizations such as the ITU and todisseminate information about them. The Association also aims to help developing
countries by supporting technical assistance, as well as by taking part in generalinternational cooperation, mainly through the Asia-Pacific Telecommunity (APT),
so as to contribute to the advance of the telecommunications and broadcasting
throughout the world.

Initiatives to Expand Business Through DX

Masaharu Hamaguchi

Associate Director & Head of Advanced Development Center
Advanced Development Center, Engineering Division& Solution Integration SE Department
OKI Electric Industry Co., Ltd.

Initiatives toward digital transformation (DX) are currently
attracting wide attention in Japan and abroad. DX has beenvariously explained by various entities. In Japan, the Guidelines for
Promoting Digital Transformation*1 published by the Ministry of
Economy, Trade and Industry in 2018 define DX as follows.
“Companies leveraging data and digital technology
to transform products, services and business models based on
customer and social needs, as well as transforming business,organizations, processes, and corporate culture to establish
competitive advantage, in response to the drastic changes inbusiness environment.”
According to this definition, DX is an activity that establishes
competitive advantage through the use of data and digitaltechnology, and is premised on the transformation of businessmodels. It also calls for the transformation of the business itself,
the organization, the processes, and the corporate culture.
This article provides an overview of OKI's initiatives toexpand business through DX, including some examples.

1. Promoting DX

Figure 1 shows the relationship between the progress ofdigitization and DX as envisioned by OKI. On the basis ofdigitization through the digitization of data, we will aim toachieve digitalization aimed at transforming business models,from digitization of business processes. DX is an activity aimed at
the wide social implementation of these transformations. Behind■ Figure 1: Progress of digitization and DX

the progress of digitization are the diversification of businessmodels, the shift from entity-oriented consumption to situationoriented consumption, the aging of various infrastructures, andthe labor shortage. We are envisioning the deployment of IoT, AI,
cloud, 5G, and Local 5G as digital technologies to bring aboutDX.
OKI is promoting DX with the goal of doubling sales in the
DX domain in FY2022 compared to FY2019 and laying thefoundation for business expansion through DX in FY2023 andbeyond. The main strategies for our DX activities are as follows.
-	External strengthening: Entering new markets through AIedge strategies, reinforcing the creation of new solutions, andenhancing existing solutions through IT modernization-	Internal strengthening: Nurturing human resources throughorganizational reforms, strengthening innovation capabilities,
and improving productivity through business process reforms.
We believe these strategies can be applied to all companies
promoting DX.
From these strategies, I will introduce the ecosystem initiatives
that are being implemented as external activities. OKI leverages its
technological strengths in AI edge and its relationships with cocreation partners, AI edge partners, and open innovation partners
in various fields to promote the social implementation andbusiness expansion of DX through OKI's unique DX solutions in
the edge domain. We consider this as our DX ecosystem, as shownin Figure 2. As of November 2021, we have 93 co-creation partnercompanies and 102 AI edge partner companies.
■ Figure 2: Figure 2. DX Ecosystem＊1 https://www.meti.go.jp/policy/it_policy/investment/dgc/dgc.html(Guidelines for Promoting Digital Transformation was succeeded to the Digital Governance Code 2.0 with the Digital Governance Code in 2022)

New Breeze Spring 2023

1

In July 2021, OKI was certified as a Digital-TransformationCertified Operator by the Ministry of Economy, Trade andIndustry, acknowledging it as a DX-ready company that is
poised to achieve new growth in the Society 5.0 era. The Digital
Transformation certification system is a system under which
the government certifies companies that comply with the basic
requirements of the Digital Governance Code*2 based on the
Act on Facilitation of Information Processing. The certification
was granted in recognition of our group-wide efforts for digitaltransformation and information dissemination, including theunique innovation activities based on the Medium-Term Business
Plan 2022 and the shift to smart factories. Figure 3 shows theprocess for acquiring certification as a DX-Certified Operator.
It also shows an overview of OKI's initiatives as a DigitalTransformation-Certified Operator.
■ Figure 3: Acquisition of certification as DigitalTransformation-Certified Operator

2. DX Domains
Figure 4 shows the DX domains that the Solution Systems
Business Group is engaged in. Our activities are organized
into three domains: public solutions, enterprise solutions, andplatforms. Under these, the company aims to establish competitive
advantage particularly in transportation, disaster prevention,
construction/infrastructure, marine, finance, distribution, andmanufacturing, as the focus areas. Going forward, we plan tofurther expand these DX domains by entering new markets andcreating new solutions.
As a concrete example of DX, I will introduce our initiatives
in smart factories. Figure 5 shows an example of Virtual One
Factory initiatives. Each factory had been individually optimized
to produce equipment in a specific domain. However, in responseto the recent changes in the supply chain, such as the need forbusiness continuity during disasters and pandemics and for
responding to demand variability due to economic fluctuations,etc., it has become imperative to construct an optimal production
system as a whole, wherein individual factories can complement
each other. Therefore, taking this as an opportunity to address
the aging of the system as well, we are working to create smart
factories that operate collectively and virtually as "One Factory."
Figure 6 shows an example of our manufacturing DX
initiatives. Shown is a new production process for implementing
the virtual One Factory. The factory edge platform utilizes IoT
and AI to digitalize on-site data in order to digitalize the knowhow of skilled engineers and improve productivity and quality.

■ Figure 4: Domains for DX initiatives in the solution system business＊2 https://www.meti.go.jp/policy/it_policy/investment/dx-nintei/dx-nintei.html＊3 VICS is a registered trademark of the Vehicle Information and Communication System Center.

2

New Breeze Spring 2023

■ Figure 5: Example of Virtual One Factory initiatives■ Figure 6: Example of Manufacturing DX initiatives

Also, using advanced networks such as Local 5G will makeit possible to flexibly construct production lines for high-mix
manufacturing and to visualize production status through highsecurity and high-speed transfer of image processing data. Goingforward, we will deploy solutions for smart factories based on
success stories of our manufacturing industry process reforms.
OKI constructed a new building at its Honjo Plant as the firststep toward making its factories smarter. In the new building,which was completed in July 2022, IoT/AI and local 5G wereintroduced to the production and assembly sites to digitally
visualize on-site data and know-how and improve productivity,
quality, and technical capabilities. In addition to making the
production system smarter, the company is also working on

creating a Zero Energy Factory (ZEF) with the aim of making theentire factory smarter and environment friendly. We aim to reduceenergy consumption not only in the office buildings but also in theentire factory, including the production facilities.

3. DX promotion management

We have set up a DX Expansion Task Force within theBusiness Group to manage DX promotion activities, while sharing
information and coordinating activities with other departments
within the company (Marketing & Sales Group and Innovation
Promotion Center). Figure 7 shows the management of DX
promotion.
For the management of DX promotion, a common format＊4 Halcon is a registered trademark of MVTec Software GmbH.
＊5 Google Cloud is a trademark or registered trademark of Google LLC in the U.S and other countries.

New Breeze Spring 2023

3

■ Figure 7: Management of DX promotion

is specified as the "dashboard" for the management of activity
information, and a method is being tried to manage data
created and updated by each business division into a database.
Constructing a database in a common format enables flexible
analysis of activities. Also, the centralized management of thedatabase facilitates information sharing between departments,
leading to the creation of new solutions through cooperation
between departments. Likewise, this management approachis expected to lead to operational and cultural reforms in eachdivision.
We believe that DX is almost synonymous with digital
innovation, and efforts to expand DX are equivalent to initiatives
aimed at innovation using digital technology. In this management
approach, we have adopted the five innovation processes of"identification of opportunities," "creation of concept," "proof
of concept," "development of solutions," and "introductionof solutions" into a process management that is linked to theinnovation management system (IMS), which we have been
implementing across the entire company since 2017. These
activities are aimed at the full-scale introduction of ISO56002.
OKI's "Yume Pro" IMS, which is ahead of ISO56002, focuses on
the social issues raised in the SDGs, and will be used to reform theabove-mentioned business processes and business models*6.

4. Future initiatives

Above I have introduced initiatives for business expansion
through DX, the key points of which are "innovation activities,""co-creation partnership," and "expansion of DX domains." As＊6 https://www.oki.com/jp/press/2020/12/z20092.html

4

New Breeze Spring 2023

the two pillars of the expansion of our DX business, the company
plans to "enter new markets/create new solutions" and "strengthen
existing solutions" through external strengthening such as
by ensuring competitive advantage through the use of digitaltechnology and by reforming business models. The company alsoplans to carry out internal strengthening through transformationof business processes, organizations, and corporate culture.
In addition, we will actively disseminate information to
expand our DX business, focusing on introducing DX case studies
and co-creation cases, and on online promotion. Figure 8 shows
an overview of the AI Edge Conference & Solutions Contest
held in December 2021. The event is a competition of ideas andtechnologies to solve social issues in various industries using
OKI's AI edge computer "AE2100," and is one of the company’s
initiatives aimed at business expansion through DX.
■ Figure 8: AI Edge Conference & Solutions Contest

SMKL (Smart Manufacturing Kaizen Level) for
Smart Manufacturing Transformation

Nicole Shonan Otoki

Mitsubishi Electric
Corporation

Yasuo Onodera

Mitsubishi Electric
Corporation

1. Introduction

The trend toward digital transformation has been gaining
momentum in recent years, and smart factories implemented by
the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) are attracting attention for
their importance to digital transformation in the manufacturingindustry.
Using various kinds of information in digital form
enables smart factories to make the interconnections among
manufacturing processes smarter and optimize the value chain.
Although many companies are aware of the enormous value thatsmart factories can create, surprisingly few are making steadyprogress toward smarter factories.
However, there are many challenges in the path toward
smart factories, including advanced automation, softwarebased management, and the establishment of platform-based
ecosystems. It is thus necessary to deploy IIoT technologies toappropriate places in manufacturing and coordinate them toensure a reasonable return on investment (ROI) while achieving
continuous improvement.
Given that situation, companies are seeking methods forevaluating current ongoing IIoT initiatives and methods forcontinuous optimization based on Plan Do Check Action(PDCA) and return on investment (ROI). We also believe that it
is essential for companies to understand the maturity level of IIoT.
To address those issues, we position maturity assessment as
an important approach for companies in the promotion of IIoT
and define a path to establishing smart factories using maturity
assessment.

2. M
 aximal use of digitalization in smart
factories

IIoT will have application in all aspects of the manufacturing
world opened up by digital technology. The move towards smart
factories has begun; big data collected from shop floors is being
used to improve the productivity and quality of facilities and work,and digital technology is being used to link supply and engineering
chains.
To cope with such changes, the e-F@ctory (Figure 1) provides
an integrated factory automation (FA) solution that supports
total cost reduction across the supply chain and engineering
chain and improving its corporate value by handling flexible
manufacturing through coordination of workers, machines, andIT toward the objectives of implementing and optimizing smart

Mitsushiro Fujishima

Mitsubishi Electric
Corporation

factories, beginning with the shop floor. The e-F@ctory provides
a product lineup for linking the shop floor and the IT system toenable seamless networking from the FA side to the IT side andpromote optimization based on the level of maturity of the shop
floor and analysis of big data.
■ Figure 1: The e-F@ctory Integrated FA solution

3. Smart factory that enables continuous
optimization

The smart factories based on the e-F@ctory solution that wehave seen so far are multidimensional, comprising a combinationof many IIoT technologies. For example, bringing together
multiple innovative technologies, such as big data analysis,
artificial intelligence, and robotics, provides the perfect means of
optimizing the value chain.
While a smart factory is a very complex endeavor, it is aprime motivator of business success by creating new value. Here,companies need to answer “what,” “when,” “how cost effectively,”and “to what level” questions as they move forward in their smart
factory journey. Companies also need to visualize the maturity
level of IIoT adoption and use that as a basis for determining ROI.
SMKL (Smart Manufacturing Kaizen Level) evaluates thelevel of maturity of IIoT using Key Performance Indicators (KPI)
specified by the ISO 22400 international standard and identifies
problems and plans for optimization for individual companies. It
also indicates the ROI of improvement proposals and goes intomeans of promoting step-by-step progress toward smart factories

New Breeze Spring 2023

5

to achieve continuous optimization.

■ Figure 3: Management levels

3.1 Definition of SMKLSMKL (Smart Manufacturing Kaizen Level) is a simple
assessment of IIoT maturity based on a matrix of five levels of
maturity and four levels of management (Figure 2). The maturity
levels are data collection, visualization, analysis, optimization,and prediction (Table 1). The management levels for discrete
manufacturing are defined as installation and workers, workshop,
factory, and supply chain (Figure 3).
■ Figure 2: Definition of SMKL

3.2 Application of SMKLThe steps of using SMKL are illustrated in Figure 4. In thefirst step, the KPIs are selected according to the managementtargets which are set by the SMKL users (managers, production
managers, workers, etc.). Then, the KPIs are used to determine
the current SMKL (“current point” in Figure 4) and thedifferences between the current values and the target values
in the SMKL matrix are denoted. Possible implementation
procedures for achieving the targets are also confirmed. Next,
ROI is used to determine the feasibility of each implementation,
and appropriate targets and implementation procedures areset (Figure 4). Afterwards, the details of the implementation
procedures are checked by the stakeholders (such as factory■ Table 1: Maturity levels

6

New Breeze Spring 2023

■ Figure 4: SMKL application

promising faster and more effective optimization compared toconventional approaches.

4. Case study

managers, production managers, etc.) and a consensus decision isreached. In the final step, the SMKL target levels (“target points”
in Figure 4) are achieved by continuous optimization based on
SMKL assessment.
SMKL can be used to promote adoption of IIoT byindividual companies and assess the direction of adoption to
enable continuous investment decisions. Doing so will enable
implementation of the right IIoT products at the right time,

The effort towards carbon neutrality in manufacturing has
become increasingly important in recent years. The 2021 White
Paper on Manufacturing raises an urgent need for a transition
to green manufacturing by introducing digital technology. Asa means of promoting energy conservation by improvements
in operations, achieving energy efficiency and efficiency in the
optimization cycle through energy management and use of IIoT,
and integrated control technologies for production management
and energy management have been attracting attention.
However, a problem for the executives of many manufacturing
companies is the difficulty in making investment decisions forlack of knowledge of their current level of energy management
and what solutions are appropriate for improvement. Here, we
provide an example of applying e-F@ctory for energy managementand describe how optimization using SMKL achieves energy
conservation.
As a means of promoting energy conservation by operational
optimization using IIoT, we are taking a step forward in theevolution from conventional optimization of individual facilities
in a factory toward overall optimization of the entire factoryas an integrated system of linked facilities. Accordingly, the■ Figure 5: SMKL example application: Assessment of energy conservation(specific energy consumption)

New Breeze Spring 20237

assessment example of using SMKL shown in Figure 5 targets
three management levels: Installation & Worker, Workshop,
and Factory. Each management level is assessed for all maturity
levels from Collection (Level a) to Prediction (Level e). Aftercompleting the Level e assessment for Installation & Worker,
the visualization and analysis steps for a Workshop and Factory
are easily accomplished. The assessment criteria and examples of
the related IIoT technology for each SMKL in this case study arelisted in Table 2.
Specific energy intensity is a widely used KPI for energy
conservation. The machine availability rate is also an important
assessment point. Differences in cost effectiveness associatedwith choice of KPI related to specific energy are presented in
Figure 6. Factory managers can begin with KPI that have high■ Figure 6: SMKL example application: KPI used inassessment of specific energy consumption

cost effectiveness with the objective of achieving a future energyefficient smart factory through adoption of IIoT and stepwise
improvement of SMKL. Machine designers can refer to theselected KPI to determine the current SMKL. The upgrading
criteria indicated by SMKL can also be considered in decisions
on improving existing facilities and introducing new facilities.
Production managers can use the defined managed items andmanagement target levels in the execution of PDCA (Plan-DoCheck-Act) cycles to achieve their goals.

5. Conclusion

IIoT initiatives that are appropriately tailored to the business of
the individual company are essential to achieving a smart factory.
Data-driven IIoT requires collection of various types of data fromthe shop floor, and digital transformation of the entire supply
chain and engineering chain requires a high level of investment
and time before optimization is actually achieved. Nevertheless,the SMKL described in this paper can be used to guide thepromotion of IIoT in companies, so acceleration in achieving
smart factories can be expected.
To further invigorate the future IIoT market, we will also
work on openness and international standardization at the IAF(Industrial Automation Forum) and promote development of
products and solutions that can be mapped to the SMKL matrix
with the objective of contributing to the digital transformation of
the customer’s organization and global development of the IIoT
market.

■ Table 2: SMKL example application: Criteria used in assessment of specific energy consumption

8

New Breeze Spring 2023

Addressing Community Infrastructure Issues with
International Standards
Kazutomo Hasegawa

Intellectual Property Strategy OfficeIntellectual Property Global Head Office
Legal and Intellectual Property Unit
Fujitsu Limited

1. Introduction

As a tool for creating and expanding markets, international
standards have a certain enforcement power as well as the power
to enable “rules changes” for resolving social issues. Examples
include domestic laws that are linked to international standards
and the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Agreement[1] of theWorld Trade Organization (WTO). The setting of indicators forevaluating services specified by international standards and the
procurement requirements that are conditioned on those indicators
can also serve as a form of enforcement of rules changes.
In line with promoting digital transformation (DX), Fujitsu
is moving forward with the smart city concept as a digital meansof resolving community issues. In contrast to conventional ‘hard’approaches such as widening roads to reduce congestion, thesmart community represents digital approaches, such as using
ICT technology to construct a regional transportation system thatoffers users the optimum means to reach their destinations.
As part of this effort, we introduce here an initiative foraddressing community infrastructure issues with digital measures
based on international standards of rules-making[2]. The main
objective of the initiative is to assess community infrastructurewith indicators set according to international standards andpropose improvements to local governments and other authorities
based on the assessment. The initiative is also intended toencourage local governments in Japan and other countries to adopt
digital measures and change the rules for resolution of community
issues and improvement of infrastructure. This is a shift awayfrom the price-oriented assessment trend in ASEAN.

2. Development of international standards
related to infrastructure export strategy

Regarding international standards in line with government
infrastructure system export strategy[3], Fujitsu has had a leadingrole in the development of international standards for the
infrastructure of smart communities, for which a huge demand is
expected. It has conducted demonstration projects and promotions
in collaboration with related organizations and companies in Japanand other countries.
2.1 BackgroundIn 2015, the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, andthe Japan Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, andTourism, and other institutions predicted a cumulative demand

Taro Fujimoto

Cross-industry Division
Public & Healthcare Business Unit
Fujitsu Japan Limited

for infrastructure in the tens of trillions of dollars by 2030. The
United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were alsoannounced in that year, which explicitly target sustainable (smart)infrastructure development.
However, orders for Japanese infrastructure systems havebeen slow in ASEAN, possibly because Japan’s “high-quality
infrastructure” [4] has not been valued in a cost-competitive
business environment.
2.2 International standards for assessment of smart
community infrastructure
To enable objective assessment of a “ high-qualit y
infrastructure” that is resilient, inclusive, and provides sustainable
performance, efforts have begun on international standardizationof the items used to assess “smart community infrastructure”
in support of smart cities. In 2012, ISO established TC 268/
SC 1[5, 6] with Japan as the Secretariat, and published ISO/TS 37151 (Smart community infrastructures − Principles
and Requirements for Performance Metrics)[7] in 2015. Thatinternational standard (or technical specification, to be precise)facilitates buyer modeling in the international procurementof smart community infrastructure for energy, water, waste,transportation, and ICT, etc. (Figure 1). It provides common
metrics in assessing performance, making the intentions ofproviders and buyers easy to understand.
The fourteen needs defined by ISO/TS 37151 are arranged inrelation to residents, community managers such as governments
and infrastructure operators, and the environment (Table 1).
The actual metrics are selected according to the purpose of
the community. For example, increasing the availability of railtransportation to provide round-the-clock operations might beconvenient for residents, but the operational efficiency of railway
operators will decrease, maintenance costs will rise sharply, andthere will be a contrary effect on mitigating climate change.
Striking a balance is the smart approach when such conflicts exist.
2.3 International standard for assessment and improvement
methods
ISO 37153 (Smart community infrastructures − Maturity
Model for Assessment and Improvement)[8] was developed andpublished in 2017 as a next step to provide guidance for assessment
and improvement from the viewpoint of sustainable communities
development as set forth in the SDGs. A prominent feature of

New Breeze Spring 2023

9

■ Figure 1: Common metrics for providers and buyers■ Table 1: F ourteen needs defined by ISO/TS 37151

ISO 37153 is that assessment levels (values) can be expressed from
1 to 5, as in a school report card, so that non-experts can easily
understand the results of an assessment (Figure 2).
In the example presented in Figure 2, the blue dashedline represents the target levels and the red line represents theassessment results (current levels) for a particular community.
This feature enables the stakeholders in smart community
development (local governments, consultants, vendors, and service
operators, etc.) to discuss improvements on the basis of a common
understanding of the current state of the community.
ISO 37153 specifies the principle of assessing the state ofcommunity infrastructure on a five level scale (1 through 5) byusing a maturity model that references CMMI[9, 10] (Figure 3). In

10

New Breeze Spring 2023

a smart community infrastructure, each of the fourteen needs is
identified by one or more metrics, and each metric is assessed by
the five reference levels of ISO 37153 to obtain the current levels(Figure 2). By setting the target levels among stakeholders inadvance, the chart in Figure 2 makes it possible for them to see ata glance the divergence of the current levels from the target levels.
ISO 37153 also describes an assessment and improvement
process that uses the maturity model. The standard successively
applies the PDCA cycle for continual improvement of community
infrastructure, as shown in Figure 4. By applying this cycle, it isalso possible to construct a smart city in a stepwise way from asmall start.

■ Figure 2: Example results of community assessment by the method of ISO 37153■ Figure 3: Basic concept of ISO 37153■ Figure 4: Step-wise smart city development using the
PDCA cycle

3. Use and dissemination of the developed
international standards

3.1 Demonstration projects and promotion
Fujitsu participated in demonstration projects in Japan andother countries between 2017 and 2019 to promote widespread
adoption of the developed international standards ISO/TS
37151 and ISO 37153. In addition, Fujitsu conducted numerous
promotional activities, including one at the 2018 ASEAN
Business and Investment Summit in Singapore[11].
ASEAN national governments’ understanding of the benefitsof objective assessments of community infrastructure conductedin conformance with international standards made it possible for
Fujitsu to conduct these activities in ASEAN countries.
Demonstration projects in which Fujitsu participated:• FY 2017 [NEDO]: Study of infrastructure assessment method
trends and application in relation to smart cities (Bekasi,Indonesia)[12]• FY 2017 [Japan Standards Association]: Assessment of ISO
37153 applicability to Kawasaki City[13]• FY 2018−19 [ Japan Ministry of Internal Affairs andCommunications]: Contracted study of assessment indicators
and assessment processes for smart city construction in
Vietnam (Da Lat, Vietnam)[14]• FY 2019 [Japan Smart Community Alliance]: Study of
infrastructure assessment method trends and application in
relation to smart communities (Jakarta, Indonesia)
3.2 Issues in using international standards
The projects were demonstrated using the international
standards with the support of the Ministry of Economy,
Trade, and Industry, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and

New Breeze Spring 2023

11

Communications, and local universities. Moreover, the businessstudies were repeatedly conducted and the following points wereclarified.
(a) Linking to digital measures
After assessment of the smart community infrastructure by
the method specified in ISO 37153, the point becomes whether
or not the proposed improvements can be linked to appropriate
digital measures.
(b) Trade-off between assessment accuracy and cost
Using the method specified by ISO/TS 37151 to develop
assessment indicators and obtain levels for them from scratch
is labor intensive and expensive[12]. However, many cities inJapan have comprehensive plans, and costs can be decreased
considerably by using the assessment indicators and values
which had been already obtained from those plans[13]. It is thus
possible to make the trade-off between assessment accuracy
and acquisition cost by considering the means of acquiring theassessment levels in light of the purpose of use.
3.3 Application to smart city businessFujitsu is using ISO 37153 in its consultation work andbusiness negotiations in the second smart city boom that beganwith the release of the Integrated Innovation Strategy 2019 andother factors[15].
Our current smart city business takes into account what welearned from the demonstration projects described in section 3.1
and the points described in section 3.2. The following describes
the consultation process: First, we collect data to be used in an
evaluation by an ISO 37153 method by conducting thoroughinterviews with the clients, e.g., a local government. Then, we
analyze the data and conduct objective assessments based on
ISO 37153. After that, we discuss the results with the clients andpropose improvements using digital measures.

References[1]	Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. “WTO/TBT Agreement,” https://www.meti. go.jp/
shingikai/keiryogyoseishin/pdf/g50913a45j.pdf[2]	Yoshiaki Ichikawa. “Construction of a Collaborative Creation Platform: A New Approach toInternational Standardization,” “Hitachi Review, July 2015”[3]	“Infrastructure system export strategy,” Economic Cooperation Infrastructure Strategy
Conference, https://www.kantei.go.jp/jp/singi/keikyou/dai47/siryou3.pdf (in Japanese)[4]	“High-quality Infrastructure,” Japan Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
https://www.mofa.go.jp/mofaj/gaiko/oda/bunya/infrastructure/index.html[5]	“ISO/TC 268/SC 1, Smart community infrastructures,” ISO, https://www.iso.org/
committee/656967.html[6]	“ISO Technical Committee TC 268/SC 1,” Japan Standards Association (JSA), https://
webdesk.jsa.or.jp/common/ W10K0500/index/dev/iso_tc268_sc1/[7] “ISO/TS  37151 2015  Smart community infrastructures − Principles and requirements for
performance metrics,” ISO, https://www.iso.org/standard/61057.html[8] “ISO 37153: 2017 Smart community infrastructures − Maturity model for assessment andimprovement”.
https://www.iso.org/standard/69225.html[9]	“Urban Infrastructure Maturity Model published as international standard,”
https://warp.da.ndl.go.jp/info:ndljp/pid/11223892/www.meti.go.jp/pre
ss/2017/12/20171226005/20171226005.html[10]	“Japanese Language Translation of CMMI for Development, V1.3,” Software Engineering
Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, https://resources. sei.cmu.edu/library/asset-view.
cfm?assetID=28776[11]	ASEAN BUSINESS ADVISORY COUNCIL. “ASEAN BUSINESS AND INVESTMENTSUMMIT 2018”[12]	“FY29 Achievement Report Survey on Trends and Applicability of Infrastructure
Assessment Methods for Smart Communities,” New Energy and Industrial Technology
Development Organization (NEDO)[13]	“International Standard ISO 37153 Kawasaki City Applicability Assessment Study Report,”
Mizuho Information & Research Institute, Inc., February 28, 2018.
[14]	“Investigation contract for formulating assessment indicators and selecting assessment
processes for smart city construction in Vietnam,” International Strategy Bureau, Ministryof Internal Affairs and Communications, March 2019[15]	 “Integrated Innovation Strategy,” Japan Cabinet Office, 2019, https://www.kantei. go.jp/
jp/singi/tougou-innovation/pdf/togo2019_honbun.pdf

4. Conclusion

Fujitsu has been working with stakeholders in Japan andother countries on development of the ISO/TS 37151 andISO 37153 rules-making international standards and is using
them in proposals for digital measures to address community
infrastructure issues. ISO 37153 enables objective assessment ofcommunity infrastructure. The sustainability of communities
as defined by the SDGs can be increased by assessing theirinfrastructure and proposing improvements based on digital
measures that bring the levels of the current state closer tothe target levels. We will continue to make efforts toward theobjectives of changing the rules for addressing infrastructure
issues such as encouraging local governments in Japan and othercountries to adopt digital measures, and to shift away from thecost-oriented basis for assessment in ASEAN countries. We
would like to build up a track record of accomplishments inaddressing community infrastructure issues with digital measuresin our efforts to expand the ICT market.

12

New Breeze Spring 2023

Cover Art
Osumi Sakura shima,from Famous Views of 60
Provinces

Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858)
Source: National Diet Library,NDL Image Bank(https://rnavi.ndl.go.jp/imagebank/)

Establishing New Workstyles Through DX— NEC Digital Workplace —Masako Imanishi

Senior Manager
Digital Business Offering Division
NEC Corporation

1. Digital transformation of workstyles

A great reset of workstyles is now needed: from “workconduciveness” to “job satisfaction.” Aiming to create workstyles
that enable employees to demonstrate higher performance,
NEC is promoting new workstyles that combine real and online
and pursuing workstyle DX to create workplaces that generatebusiness.
NEC aims to create social value by “creating workstyles toenable everyone to play an active role,” “creating an exciting daily
life for everyone,” and “creating experiences that go beyond time or
distance.” “NEC Digital Workplace” contributes to making this areality.
In the midst of the global scale digital shift of society triggeredby the COVID-19 pandemic, companies are expected to havethe flexibility to respond to changes in the way their employees
work. I will talk about the challenges companies face to ensure
flexibility and NEC’s services related to workstyle DX that will
help companies address these challenges.

2. The global digital shift is changing the way
people work.

With the unabated spread of COVID-19, there have been
many instances around the world where the movement of people
and things have been physically cut off due to restrictions on goingout and moving around, lockdown of cities, and closure of borders.
Meanwhile, the volume of Internet traffic in Japan has
increased by 49% compared to before the COVID-19 pandemic,
and demand for semiconductors for data centers increased in the
United States, pointing to the rapid digital shift of society.
This digital shift has brought about significant changes inindividuals, society, and the economy.
Personal values have changed, while security and safety in thedigital space have become imperative in society. Looking at theeconomy, we see cross-industry restructuring and global alliances
taking place at an increasing pace. The digital shift will continue
to bring about various changes around the world. In response,
companies must have the flexibility to adapt to these changes.
They can achieve this through the use of DX technologies such as
AI, robots, and 5G.
The digital shift in society will also have a significant impact
on the way individuals work. In her book “The Shift: The Futureof Work is Already Here,” Linda Gratton, who also served on theadvisory board for the U.K. government’s “100-year Life Plan,”claims that there will be three changes in the way people work in
2025.
The first is a shift from generalist human resources withwide-ranging knowledge to “continuous specialists” with a highdegree of expertise. Second, there will be a need for innovation incollaborations with colleagues and partners, rather than a solitarycompetition for individual achievements.
The third is a shift from the idea of “working for
consumption” to the idea of “being passionate about work itself.”
NEC has already taken steps to respond to these changes.

3. An environment that fosters “jobsatisfaction” as well as “workconduciveness”

NEC has been promoting various initiatives related to culturaltransformation since 2018. Among these are office reforms,
introduction of the super-f lex system, and establishment oftelework environment. As a result, our telework rate as of August2021 has reached 85%, with 31,000 web meetings being held eachday, pointing to major changes in the way our employees work.
Results of employee surveys also show that the degree of workstylesatisfaction has improved significantly.
T hese initiatives, however, focus on ly on “workconduciveness,” pointing to the need to also delve on initiatives
that enhance employee’s sense of “job satisfaction,” going forward.
To create an environment in which “working itself becomes awonderful experience,” we must carry out a shift in the workof employees into higher value-added work that robots and AI
cannot perform.
By letting robots and AI, as much as possible, perform
standardizable tasks, employees will be able to focus on advanced
management decisions and creative work. This should enable
employees to feel a sense of “job satisfaction” to a much higher
degree. Therefore, it is imperative to analyze and utilize various
data, not only technologies such as robots and AI.
From this perspective, NEC has launched the “NECDigital Workplace” as a corporate infrastructure for proactively
utilizing data in addition to technology. We will aim to solve
social issues while enabling our employees to work autonomously
to demonstrate their creativity and produce better results. The
concept of “NEC Digital Workplace” is to serve as the foundation
for becoming such a company. As the roadmap to achievethis, NEC hopes to establish workstyles that take health and

New Breeze Spring 202313

psychology into consideration, based on safety and security under
the impact of COVID-19, and ultimately nurture a workplace
where individuals and organizations can grow significantly.

4. Services that NEC provides to establish
new workstyles

Among the services provided through NEC Digital
Workplace, I will explain in particular those that are related to
AI utilization, AI human resource development, data-driven
management, and initiatives for human resource transformation.
■ AI Utilization
NEC Digital AssistantWith the uptake of telework among companies, sometimes
detailed operations, like coordination of meetings, expense
settlement procedures, and personnel-related inquiries, cannot
be carried out smoothly, adversely affecting the performance ofprimary tasks.
The AI chatbot “NEC Digital Assistant” enables employees
to make chat-based requests for AI to perform such detailed
operations. Since AI learns the chat interactions, it can make
optimal recommendations and give accurate answers in response
to variously worded questions.

■ Data-Driven Management
Workstyle Visualization & Reform Support Service
When implementing new workstyles, existing rules sometimes
do not fit the reality. However, it is difficult to obtain internal
consensus on measures based on individual perceptions andopinions. In such cases, supplementation with quantitative andobjective data would be necessary.
In the “Workstyle Visualization & Reform Support
Service,” experienced consultants conduct quantitative analysis
of issues based on Office 365 log information to formulate atransformation roadmap. Flagging human resources considered as“high performers” enables analysis of their differences with other
employees.

■ Development of AI Human Resources
NEC Academy for AI
After the COVID-19 pandemic, companies have been
increasingly faced with the need to deal with curtailment ofexisting businesses and to implement further measures in response
to digitalization and the shift to online activities. However, thelack of highly skilled professionals and know-how has become abottleneck.

Utilization of Causal Analysis Technologies (AI, etc.)
While the evolution of technology has made it possible tocollect a variety of data, utilizing large amounts of data often leadto problems related to the time required for analysis and variationsin interpretation.
Using a causal analysis solution, for example, enables
automatically generating and presenting causal structures after
analyzing causal relationships, logic of things, and contextual■ Figure 1: NEC Digital Workplace

14“NEC Academy for AI” is a service provided by NEC to giveback to society by offering the training methodologies NEC hasdeveloped in the field of AI.
The service classifies the target personnel into four types:
Coordinator, Consultant, Expert, and Architect, and develops
programs for each type. One of the features of the service is thatit does not only support the acquisition of knowledge, but also
conducts follow up on dealing with practical barriers that may
arise later.

New Breeze Spring 2023

structures hidden in data, which cannot be understood by looking
at correlations alone.
This technology is attracting attention because it can beapplied not only to the analysis of products and services, but also to
the analysis of employee engagement.
Pattern Data Utilization Platform
As the life cycles of products and services are getting shorter,
the traditional flow of introduction after a long design process canlead to delays in market entry.
To prevent these delays, NEC provides a “Pattern Data
Utilization Platform” with only the minimum number offunctions. The system can be expanded any time depending on
the situation, enabling quick deployment of new businesses.
Business & Data-Driven Agile Partner Service
As mentioned above, all areas of business are being carried out
at faster speeds, and corporate budgeting trends are changing.
The inability to speedily deploy business with conventional
budget formulation, wherein budget is allocated from the previous
fiscal year and used up in the following year, has become aproblem. There are thus more companies raising funds in a moreagile way.
The “Business & Data-Driven Agile Partner Service” waslaunched after examining what NEC can do as an IT vendor toaddress these customer issues.
The service organizes the KGIs/KPIs of the customer’sbusiness and incorporates the specific functions that are actuallynecessary to improve the KPIs into the design, before proceedingwith development. The process usually requires advanced IT andbusiness skills for determining the functions necessary to achieve
KPIs, but the service makes it possible to also provide the humanresources equipped with the necessary skills.
■ Initiatives to Transform Human Resources
Support Service for Developing a Framework for Human
Resource Transformation
As the demand for human resources is shifting fromgeneralists to specialists, there is a pressing need for companies totake relevant human resource measures, such as securing digitaltalents and introducing job-based management.
In NEC’s organizational human resources assessment,
experienced consultants study the client’s strategic systems
and measures in the human resources domain, identifies theissues to address, and supports the creation of a roadmap fortransformation. Clarifying the competencies that are essential
to the job (= job description) through the service will enablemaximizing existing human resources, as well as securing theneeded external human resources.

5. NEC’s services help customers accelerate
their workstyle DX and expand theirbusiness.

In addition to the services mentioned above, NEC isdeveloping other services that leverage the strengths of various
technologies, such as security, zero trust, cloud shift, and 5G.
Companies need to be able to respond quickly to the majorchanges taking place worldwide. NEC provides strategic
consulting services for HR organizational transformation andother needs, as well as DX services that fully leverage AI and
automation technologies supporting data-driven management. We
are committed to contributing to the acceleration of workstyle DX
and business expansion of our customers.

■ Figure 2: NEC Digital Workplace Offering Menu

New Breeze Spring 2023

15

= A Serial Introduction Part 3 =Winners of ITU-AJ Encouragement Awards 2022
In May every year, The ITU Association of Japan (ITU-AJ) proudly presents ITU-AJ Encouragement Awards to people who have madeoutstanding contributions in the field of international standardization and have helped in the ongoing development of ICT.
These Awards are also an embodiment of our sincere desire to encourage further contributions from these individuals in the future.
If you happen to run into these winners at another meeting in the future, please say hello to them.
But first, as part of the introductory series of Award Winners, allow us to introduce some of those remarkable winners.

Takashi Harada

Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd.
https://www.oki.com/
Fields of activity: ITU-T SG20, Infrastructure monitoring

Activities for standardization of infrastructure monitoring
I am very honored to receive this prestigious ITU-AJ
Encouragement Award. I am most grateful to ITU-AJ and all who
have given me guidance and encouragement.
Activities on ITU-T SG20 in this field started in 2019. At
the beginning of the proposal, there was no discussion about
infrastructure monitoring in international standardization.
First, we introduced a practical demonstration of infrastructure
monitoring in Japan as use cases for smart cities. This was very
well received by the participants as it was a new perspective, andit was accepted as a use case for smart cities. The following year,
we began working on a recommendation for a reference modeland requirements for a civil engineering infrastructure healthmonitoring system. After about two years of discussion, therecommendation Y.4214 was established in February 2022.
During studies for the recommendation, there were comments

Kazuhiro Hoya

that careful discussion was necessary, since maintenance andmanagement of civil engineering infrastructure is related toregulations in each country. I feel that this result was only possible
thanks to the great cooperation and support of Mr. Toru Yamada(NEC; SG20 Vice-chairman), the Japan delegation from MIC
and Japanese companies, and Mr. Marco Carugi (Huawei, China;
SG20 Q2 rapporteur).
For Japan, which has a large amount of civil engineering
infrastructure and a shrinking workforce, it will be increasingly
important and urgent how digital technology is applied to theinspection and the maintenance of civil engineering infrastructurein the future, to promote efficiency and labor saving. I will do
my best to promote standardization activities in this field anddisseminate the results of our activities.

Fuji Television Network, Inc.
https://www.fujitv.com/
Fields of activity: ITU-R WP6B, WP6C, W3C, CTA WAVE project

Standardizing for programme production and exchange
I am pleased to receive this encouragement award from the
ITU-AJ and am very thankful to the association and everyone
who has provided guidance and support. I will continue working
on development in the telecommunications and content industries.
Japan is a world leader in implementation of ultra-highdef inition television broadcasting and has wide-ranging
knowledge involving peripheral areas such as programme
production and exchange. In this case, we have brought
information regarding identification of required bit rates for
programme production using the HEVC codec into amendmentof certain ITU-R recommendations, namely BT.1203 and16

New Breeze Spring 2023

BT.2073, which are documents related to specifying bitrates forcertain purposes in production. The information was obtained
through the drafting of the ARIB standard, “Common media
file format for UHDTV program exchange”, which brought
about a new approach using subjective evaluation to specify theseparameters for high-quality, high-bit-rate video materials andpackages. I hope that this work will contribute to penetration ofultra-high-definition video in domains beyond broadcasting. For
this contribution, I received much support from everyone working
on standardization at ARIB, for which I am also very thankful.

Takanori Maegawa

Nippon Telegraph and Telephone East Corporation
https://www.ntt-east.co.jp/en/
Fields of activity: ICT promotion in Vietnam and emerging nations.

Contributions to improving education environments and developing the
ICT market in Vietnam
1. C ontributions to improving education environments in
Vietnam
The government in Vietnam is promoting reform of education
using ICT, with requirements such as “Digitizing school lessons,”“Support for home study from schools using telecommunications,”
and “Using telecommunications to eliminate regional education
disparity between urban and regional areas.” For this, we provided
an ICT education support system platform and content, which
contributed to improving education environments in Vietnam.
2. Establishing a base for software development in Vietnam
Contributions promoting bridge-building and businessdevelopment between Vietnam and Japan, improving skills of IT
technologists and developing the ICT market in Vietnam.

Shinji Yoshida

Specif ically, I used the deep understanding of local
commercial culture gained while residing in Vietnam. I trained
local IT technologists regarding commercial culture, work flows,
quality control methods, etc. used in Japan. Through development
trial projects using low-code, I established standard development
schemes (organization, documentation forms, communication
methods, etc.).
I hope to continue to contribute to developing the ICT market
in Vietnam in the future.
[Message to readers]
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you are interested insoftware development or ITO business.

Ex. KDDI Foundation
https://www.kddi-foundation.or.jp/english/
Fields of activity: APT Capacity Building Programme

APT technical training forced to change by the COVID-19 pandemicFirst, I would like to say how thankful I am on receiving an
ITU-AJ Encouragement Award. I would also like to extend myheartfelt appreciation to everyone at ITU-AJ and to all concerned
for their valuable guidance and cooperation in my past activities.
From 2017 to 2022, from among the various international
cooperation projects that serve as a pillar of KDDI Foundation
activities, I was mainly engaged in ICT technical training
commissioned by the Asia Pacific Telecommunity (APT) andheld in Japan. During this time, the training mode underwent agreat change from group training to online training due to the
COVID-19 pandemic.
In group training conducted up to FY2019, trainees would
come to Japan, and after spending about two weeks attendingclassroom lectures and making inspection tours of related
institutions, they would take back the results of their training totheir respective organizations.
However, from FY2020 on, trainees could not come to Japan,
and as a result, training switched to an online format in which
trainees were asked to view video recordings of lectures on an
e-learning system. Additionally, in training conducted in FY2021,
some lectures were conducted live.
This year, with the easing of entry restrictions, the KDDI
Foundation has been commissioned by APT to conduct hybrid
training that combines group training consisting of hands-on
seminars and inspection tours in Japan with at-home online
training. This presents a new challenge to the KDDI Foundation,
but preparations are proceeding based on its past experience in
implementing programs. It is our hope that this form of trainingthat combines the good features of both group training and online
training will be highly evaluated by trainees and APT.

New Breeze Spring 2023

17

通巻百三十八号

定価一冊一、六五〇円 （本体価格 一、五〇〇円、消費税 一五〇円） 年間購読料

The ITU Association of Japan六、六〇〇円 （本体価格 六、〇〇〇円、消費税 六〇〇円）